Recent years have seen realization of mobile telephones, facsimile apparatuses and the like which incorporate a browser function. By this, it is possible to easily contrive providing a digital multi-function copying machine or a printer apparatus which incorporates a Web browser function inside the apparatus to perform browsing on an operation screen. By virtue of incorporating a Web browser function in the apparatus, it is possible on an operation screen of the digital multi-function copying machine to display and operate a Web application program working on a personal computer (PC) or a server connected to the apparatus, or to display and print a Web content on a network. Such art is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 2000-6686.
Generally, in a Web browser on a personal computer, normally a management area is prepared for each user to manage a cache area for temporary data, and user data such as bookmarks or the like that are managed by the Web browser. When a user performs cache clear or history clear on the management screen of the Web browser, the cache area for temporary data and the history prepared for the user can be cleared.
However, in a digital multi-function copying machine, there is a case that more than 1000 department IDs are prepared to be used in user control. If a Web browser is incorporated to a digital multi-function copying machine, it is unrealistic to provide a management area for each of the department IDs under constraints of the capacity of the digital multi-function copying machine.
Meanwhile, there is an idea of sharing management data such as Cookie, URL history data and the like used in the browser function, and a cache area for temporarily storing contents. However, in general since a digital multi-function copying machine is often used by plural users, temporary data in a cache area and management data used before may remain in the apparatus when another user uses the apparatus. This involves security concerns and privacy protection issues.
Furthermore, a digital multi-function copying machine is often used without being managed by department IDs or without other user control. Particularly in an environment where the apparatus is used by unspecified number of users, e.g., convenience stores, user data of unspecified number of people remains in the digital multi-function copying machine, causing problems in view of security and privacy protection.